


there's a typo in this crossword puzzle

by smortperalta



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Cute, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Love, Marriage Proposal, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:49:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smortperalta/pseuds/smortperalta
Summary: A oneshot of the scene in which Jake realizes he wants to propose to Amy!
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	there's a typo in this crossword puzzle

_April 28, 2017._

Jake Peralta is sitting in his bed, back propped up against his pillows, scrolling through his phone. He swipes through a social media feed full of his friend’s posts — Charles’s hundreds of photos of Nikolaj, Terry with his twins, Gina being Gina — but he doesn’t really take any of it in. He’s tired after a long day at work, and he’s almost ready to go to bed, but Amy still wants the light on because she’s finishing up her—

“There’s a typo in this crossword puzzle!”

Jake looks over at her, takes in her face, how her brows are furrowed and her hand is held out in indignation because how _dare_ there be a typo in that puzzle. As he watches her, it’s as if time freezes.

All of a sudden, a rush of images floods Jake’s brain.

He remembers the first day the two of them met, when they shook hands for the first time and introduced themselves. Charles blurted out, “I hear wedding bells,” and though he would never in a million years admit it, Jake felt a little bit of a spark too.

He remembers the night of their bet, how he watched her laughing on that rooftop, trying and failing to catch peanuts in her mouth. How he denied the relief team and skipped the rest of his elaborate plans because he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than just hear her laugh and spend time with her doing the job they both love so much.

He remembers the night he left for his undercover mission, how he told her he wished something could happen between them. Then, around a year later, when they had their first kiss at that restaurant, and then their _real_ first kiss at the precinct. How worried she was after his _Die Hard_ situation. Their first time saying “I love you.” Taking her to meet his mom. Reuniting in Florida after missing her more than he’d ever missed anyone before, even his dad.

And yet, even though he’s incredibly grateful for all of these big moments, they haven’t been enough to help him make the big decision. But in this instant, looking over at Amy, who’s so incredibly smart that she just noticed a _typo_ in a _crossword puzzle_ , a puzzle that she can do in fifteen minutes and that Jake would never be able to do in his life, he realizes just how lucky he is. How much he enjoys being near her, even — especially — in the quiet moments, when it’s the two of them sitting next to each other, happy just to be alive and safe and healthy and _together_.

And just like that, it hits Jake. It’s the same feeling he gets when he finally solves a difficult case, like when you put the final piece into a complicated puzzle and suddenly, the whole picture makes sense. It’s clear to Jake now that Charles was right, the first day that he met Amy, because now Jake can hear the wedding bells too. He has to propose to her.

Snapping out of his reverie, Jake realizes he’s still staring at Amy, but he can’t help it. All he can do is offer up a lopsided smile, and it grows into a bigger one, and he knows he’s sitting there grinning like an idiot at her, but he’s so happy he doesn’t know how to stop. He’s falling in love with her all over again, and he can’t wipe the smile from his face.

“What?” Amy asks, catching him staring. “Is there toothpaste on my face or something?”

“It’s nothing,” Jake answers. Then, more softly, “You look perfect.”

He gets a soft smile in return, and then Amy goes back to her crossword puzzle. She scoffs at the typo once more, and then continues solving, as focused as ever and oblivious to Jake’s epiphany.

Jake tears his eyes away from her and forces himself to look back down at his phone, but he’s still smiling. He’s never been so sure of anything as he is of the fact that this is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Now all he has to figure out is how to ask her.


End file.
